Roccopalooza 2012

Musicians are a rare breed. When one is hurting, they all hurt. And they will go out of their way to help a brother in need. When local guitarist/songwriter Rocco Marshall recently had to have his leg amputated, long time friend, Jim Brown, immediately sprung into action to put together a benefit to help cover the medical expenses. One benefit soon turned to four separate events. Musicians from many genres came together to donate their time and talent to the cause. Rocco is well loved and respected amongst his peers and their devotion to him was evidenced by an incredible response to these events. It was a true example of love in action.

European Street hosted the acoustic based musicians. Mike shackelford and Steve Shanholtzer, The Storytellers, Jamie Defrates and Susan Brown, and Larry Mangum.
Brewsters Pit had the rock bands HSOA: Heated State of Aggression, Rogue Patriot, Bleeding in Stereo, and Rosco Caine.
Yesterday's Social Club had two events. On Saturday night they had A1A North, Rick Arcusa Band, Al Stone, Dillinger, and Synergy. Sunday's lineup included a jam session (Jim Mack was in on one of the jams) followed by a show featuring J. Collins, Danny Delves, Mojo Roux, and Yankee Slickers. Randall Hall was also there jamming with the bands. One of the highlights of the evening was when Rocco's daughter, Aaron Marshall joined him on stage. The girl can seriously belt out the tunes. Whew! Such a talent! She must get that from her daddy.

Each of these venues received a donation at the door for Rocco, and there were auctions of things that people and businesses had donated. Yesterday's also had a t-shirt with the bands listed on them which was sold. Part of the proceeds went directly to Rocco.
All of these venues and bands had one common goal...raising money and showing their support for Rocco Marshall. As I listened to the bands, I knew that, not only was Rocco blessed, every person who came was as well. I mean, how many times do you have an opportunity to witness so much talent in one room? And the most amazing part...every one of those musicians left their egos at the door. Nobody was there to show off how great they were. It was all about Rocco. Throughout the night Rocco repeatedly expressed his love and gratitude for the tremendous support. He was honestly humbled by it all. And that to me makes him all the more loveable.

Boyce Avenue - Broken Angel (Live & Acoustic at The Fort Studios)

When I was a child my father left home. It wasn't like I never saw him again, but he wasn't really a part of my life. He had another family and his time and money was spent with them. I always had this notion that it was my fault that he left. You know how children can think silly things like that. Anyway, I would do good in school, get awards, etc. hoping that I could be good enough and it would bring him back home. Sadly, that never happened. And I suffered for years feeling that I wasn't worthy to be loved and that I could never be good enough. My dreams of the perfect life were crushed. I feel like a lot of who I could have been was destroyed when he walked out that door. But you know, God had a plan in it all, and I've learned to forgive my father. Yes, I was once broken...but I am no longer. I have forgiven my father. And I have accepted a Father who will never leave or forsake me.

Attack or Opportunity?

A few days ago I felt led to post some of the music I wrote years ago on my youtube site. I really didn't think I'd receive any bad feedback since most of the people who would be listening to it were my friends or those who are in a Christian group I am a part of.  Imagine my surprise when I received negative comments on one of the songs. Now, it wouldn't bother me if they didn't like my voice or the style of music. People have different styles and tastes, and I think that I would be okay with that. I don't profess to be some amazing singer who will make your jaw drop the moment I open my mouth to sing. But the negative comments weren't about my voice. They were directed more at the lyrics. Okay, so I could take a little criticism of lyrics. I mean, like I said earlier, people have different styles and tastes. But this attack became something directed at me. I was called self righteous and an idol worshipper. I felt hurt and offended. And what hurt the most was that it came from someone I assumed was a Christian. As I thought about it I realized that any time we do something to promote God and His message, we can expect that we will face opposition. And sometimes that opposition will come from those who you would think were on the same team. I've seen it many times before. And you know, there's nothing new about it. If you think about Jesus and His encounters with the religious leaders of the day you see that they didn't like His message either. They rejected Him even though they should have known better than anyone that He was the promised Messiah. They questioned Him and tried to trap Him into speaking the wrong thing. Ahh...which makes me think...."could this be a trap?" My guess would be that it is not only a trap, but an opportunity. And that makes me smile. I have been praying for God to give me opportunity and here it is. An opportunity to not be offended, to walk in love and to not lash out in anger. It's funny because I was having this conversation the other day about how easy it is for me to speak before I think. And this might have been one of those times if I had fallen into the trap. But thank God I didn't.

Having said all of this, let me say that for the past week I have really been seeking to spend more time in God's word, in His presence, praying and worshipping. My desire is to develop an even closer relationship and to be able to hear His voice more clearly, discerning what is and isn't of Him. So this shouldn't surprise me. But I will not be moved. And I will continue to do those things I believe God is asking of me. Yes, there will be opposition and trials. In those trials I will choose to rejoice. I must be doing something right if someone is trying to put a stop to it....

~jan~